why religion is more alive than ever

many scholars, politicians, and public figures claim religion is dead.
they couldn’t be further from the truth.

religion has never been more alive than it is in the 21st century.
however, its changed.

its got plastic surgery, a fake passport, and dressed in y2k jumpsuits
(who thought these were a good idea?)

instead of traditional Christianity, Islam, and other systems steering the ship, new religions have replaced their grip.

academics and laypeople cling to science as some all-powerful deity as they descend into the shackles of Scientism.

political demagogues & blue-haired activists engage in screaming matches online, tied to their political beliefs like dogshit sticks to a shoe.

and don’t even get me started on all this new-age Astrology and Crystal shit.

no, Veronica, the reason your life’s a mess isn’t because Mercury is in retrograde, it’s because you let guys fuck on the first date.

you let guys named “chad” who wear Birkenstocks and drink spiked Kombucha to go down on you.

wtf, Veronica.

anyways, the point is that religion is not dead.
its simply altered appearance.

but the problems of religion still persist.

the undercurrents of intolerance and “holier-than-thou” mentality is stronger than ever.

the fight of belief systems and indoctrination of humans still exists.

the lack of freedom and shackles that many(not all) religious systems ensnare people in still persist.

i’m working on this myself.

it’s easy for me to cling to Virtue Ethics and Buddhism and Stoicism as the “end-all-be-all” to belief systems.

however, it limits me.
it limits us, as a society.

even if i listen to people who disagree with me, i am processing their ideas through the structures of my beliefs.

it’s like filtering water through an old, dirty filter.

yeah, it’s going through a filter, but the water that comes out the other end is filled with muck and shit.

if i hold my beliefs too closely, other people’s beliefs get painted and tainted by my mind, thus not really understanding someone.

this is the danger of “strong-beliefs-strongly-held”

if you cling too tightly, before you know it, you’ve created a prison. a prison which traps you in your own mind, unable to understand any other perspectives.

now, i’m not here to say we should go neo-nihilism on this world. i’m not saying that everything is meaningless and the world is shit.

but clinging to beliefs is very easy and very attractive.

so be mindful.
be very careful.

question your beliefs.
question their origin.
question yourself.

strong beliefs, loosely held.
this is what i’m aspiring towards.

do not think you are so right that no one else could be right, too.

thank you.
memento mori.
stay curious :)

this was a different edition. just a short essay. lmk if you liked it. thanks.